segment. >> gretchen: we love it. also newly fox news contributor, deny kucinich. >> brian: see you on radio. >> reporter: they will both

rely on a some probuying nary legal status given emmild to 11 million or so people in the country here illegally. the difference between them, will be on degree of enforcement and degree to which liberalization of immigration status is dependent on enforcement. if you look at the so-called gang of eight plan it uses contention, saying the path of citizenship is contingent, greater enforcement, e-verify, better border security. i think the president's plan will go lighter on the enforcement. bill: you will hear from senator rubio in 45 minutes. he is not sure whether the president will torpedo his idea. he is not aware of any senate coordination on the white house plan and the senate plan. is that the case. >> reporter: possibly the senate's president's plan could torpedo the gang of it's plan.

it almost killed john mccain's presidential campaign in 2007 and 2008. he began to run around saying secure the border first. that was his mantra after almost dying by supporting immigration reform. it will be very important what the president says and rubio's chief of staff was tweeting out last night that it was possible that something the president proposed could be a deal killer. last thing, bill, is that the plan is not written at all in the senate. it will go to the senate judiciary committee where patrick leahy has a liberal rating of 95 to 100, depending what liberal group you're be looking at. a lot of people on the left and democrat are looking for him to liberalize the bill quite a bit. that could also be a deal-killer for republicans. bill: quickly here. are republicans going to be behind this based on what you heard so far? >> reporter: i think the republicans who opposed it back in '06 and '07, if they're still in the senate they will oppose it today

despite the election results of 2012. if you listen to senator jeff sessions of alabama seemed to be very, very opposed to the bill. what i'm hearing from leadership sources in the senate they will sit back and not go one way or the other on this because nothing has been written. they want to see what happens under leahy and the judiciary committee and they will not stick their neck out for it right now. bill: thank you, byron york teeing it up for us in washington. there you go. martha: one of the most outspoken senators on the issue of immigration has been senator marco rubio from florida. he is one of those group of eight senators who unveiled that plan yesterday. he will join us in a couple minutes with his concerns about the president's plan and whether he thinks it could scuttle the compromise marco rubio, coming up here in "america's newsroom.". meanwhile we have new numbers what americans think about this immigration reform idea. new "fox news poll". 66% of the those questioned do support a policy that allows a path to

citizenship. 17% say illegals must be sent home. they have broken the law. 13% are in favor of a guest worker program. those who support citizenship also believe that individuals should pay their back taxes, learn english, and pass a background check. all of which has been part of john mccain's plan for quite some time. bill: the numbers on the current state of immigration in the u.s., they are truly staggering. there are roughly 11 million immigrants here in the u.s. illegally. that is down from the record of more than 12 million five years ago. the vast majority, 80%, come from mexico and latin america. in 2012, last year alone, more than half of all those facing deportation were convicted criminals. martha: some new information right now on what could mark a dramatic reversal for the boy scouts of america and its over 3.5 million youth members and adult volunteers. the iconic american scouting group founded 103 years ago

next month is now discussing ending its ban on gay members. doug mckelway is live in our d.c. bureau. doug, when can we expect a decision on this? >> reporter: martha, it could come as early as next week. the proposed change would end the nationwide ban on homosexuals joining the ranks of scouts and scout massers. it would allow individual chapters to set their own rules regarding acceptance of gays. just seven months ago the boy scouts reaffirmed their long-held ban on homosexuality. it was urged by some chapters and two influence wednesday board members to reconsider. reaction as you understand has been very mixed. >> i know boy scouts nationally, local councils and troops really had some negative, negative results from it. the loss of a lot of corporate sponsorships or donations. loss of access to some public parks, things like that. and quite honestly the loss of a lot of good potential talent for adult leaders in

troops. >> reporter: listen to this former eagle scout who is openly gay. >> i think it is called doing the right thing. it's time. it's, it's, really time and you know, heavens knows, these youngsters have enough in this complicated world to grow up with. >> reporter: but opponents of the proposed change are many. tony perkins of the family research council issued a statement that read, quote, if the board can pit lates to the bullying of homosexual activists the boy scout legacy of producing great leaders will become another casualty of moral compromise. they argue introducing those identifying themselves by section wahl orientation is introducing concept of sexuality for children not ready for it.

martha: like the military, scouting always had gay members among its ranks and perhaps, you know, the suggestion is just to recognize it? >> reporter: yeah, and, advocates for allowing gays in scouting say this allows them to step out of the closest and live life openly without fear and repressed emotions. others say, we'll hear a lot of this in coming days, a lot of kids don't want to go camping in the woods for days on end with guys that open, avout gays. martha: doug mckelway, thank you very much. bill: boy scouts of america incorporated 100 years ago. among its ranks many of our nation's leaders. 206 members of the last congress taken part in scouting at one point in their lives. currently there are about 2.7, 2.7 million? yeah, that's about right. martha: 2.7 out there. a little more than that. well a $50 billion aid package for hurricane sandy victims is now headed to president obama's desk for

his signature and with the stroke of a pen washington will have used all of the new money that it is getting from raising taxes on the wealthy and then some. think about that. stuart varney has thought about that. he is the anchor of "varney & company" on the fox business network. i have to say that again, stuart. basically all the money that was raised by taxing the rich, all of it, is bonn with this one hurricane sandy bill. doesn't matter whether or not you think money is valuable to go for hurricane sandy victims. i think it is important but it is important for people to recognize it. >> i'm not arguing rights and wrongs of disaster relief. i'm just doing the math. as you point out this sandy relief bill will cost $60 billion. that is there no off setting spending cuts. we were bringing in 80 billion, from taxing the rich. the new spending almost cancels out the deficit reduction of taxing the rich.

you end up with zero-sum game. spend more, tax more, end up with the same deficit that we had before. you have to ask, are we really serious about controlling our spending and cutting our debt? they haven't. martha: now, stuart, the people, the republicans who were ends guess passing this bill when it came up a few weeks back got a lot of heat. charles schumer and others came out said, it was unfeeling, insensitive to the victims it of hurricane sandy. which on the face of it you can understand but weren't they actually saying, you know, we want to make sure there are commensurate cuts to pay for this bill, right? >> yes. in two respects here. number one, the pork that was in the original bill, most of it was taken out for the current bill. secondly, the republicans proposed an across the board, very small cut in spending by different federal an sis. that was completely rejected. so the spending cut to offset the new spending on sandy relief, that was rejected. we're ending up with $60 billion worth of new

spending. rightly or wrongly, do the math. that's what we got. martha: i remember a long time ago nancy pelosi got up and heralded a pay as you go practice that was going to be taking place in congress. i can't ever remember hearing about it since then. that is essentially what they were saying. we need to pay as we go. it was shot down across the board. >> that was then. this is now. martha: stuart, thank you very much. >> thank you, martha we're just getting started here but is there a new front in the war on terror? region of the world where the united states is about to expand its military role starting now. john bolton will tell us what we need to know about that. martha: plus as new gun legislation is set to hit capitol hill parents of sandy hook victims are speaking out on this and you may be surprised what some of them are saying. bill: really gripping statements too. an american pastor sentenced to eight years in a notorious iranian prison. he is in jail as we speak. is the state department doing all it can to bring him home? or is the state department doing anything at all?

>> when my daughter heard me say eight years to someone, mom, what is years? and i couldn't explain to them a year is 365 days. she doesn't get it. they don't understand it at all. they're still hoping every day that he is going to come home. i haven't taken that hope from them. every night they pray and e up hoping he will be home soon. i can't even break that news to them. they don't understand the concept of years. [ male announcer ] some day, your life will flash before your eyes. make it worth watcng. introducing the 2013 lexus ls. an entirely new pursuit.

martha: the fire department is on the scene of an explosion at an oil storage facility just outside of van, texas. we understand they are treating a couple people for burns in this situation. it was an explosion earlier today. as you can see the van zandt county fire marshal are on site of this explosion. it is north of state highway

110 outside of van, texas. the two victims are both 24 years of age. it is reported according to this, both individuals were smoking on top of the storage tanks and one of them exploded. wow! this is quite a story. we'll get more on it. get you back there with live pictures in just a few minutes. more from van, texas, coming up. bill: meantime, 15 minutes past the hour. u.s. signing an agreement with the west african country of niger to increase our military presence there. this coming amid new concerns that al qaeda is gaining a stronger foothold in the region. john bolton former u.s. ambassador to the u.n. and fox news contributor. good morning to you. you say we should be very concerned about this. why? >> we can see from what happened in benghazi on september the 11th, the french operations in mali, the hostage-taking in algeria, the chaos breaking out in egypt north africa is becoming unstable and this is something that should be

of great concern to us because the terrorist threat that we've seen in all these places is obviously growing and expanding and a direct threat to europe and ultimately to us. bill: let me show our viewers on the map here, mr. ambassador, what we're talking about. drones setting up on air strips. i tell you, for the life of me i never thought this to be a possibility. that we would be on television, mr. ambassador, talking about drones and the country of niger. set up here on the western and southwestern border here, that could then fly over northern mali which is where the islamist rebels have taken refuge over the past year. that is one issue in this region. you talk about algeria and the gas plant that was under siege 10 days ago. algeria has its own issues. then further east in libya after the fall of qaddafi, so many of these weapons, reportedly they went into algeria. many went down here to mali. that is what we're contesting at the moment. furthermore, i make mention of this. i come back to what is

happening here in egypt. i never thought we would be on television talking about u.s. military involvement, operating out of niger, to contest islamists in mali. but you say, people have been talking about this for some time, it is just a question whether we listened to them or not? >> right. the pentagon has been concerned about the terrorist threat in north africa over a decade. even before the new african command was created they were worried about how to handle it. this drone base that we're going to set up in niger, you can see from the map, it is centrally located country and it will give us better insight certainly than we had, to, on 9/11 in benghazi. bill: how does the administration feel about this? do they want to enter this phase? or would they rather not? >> i'm not sure the president's particularly paying attention. he has yet to break away from his line that the war on terror is going very successfully. indeed it is almost over. when we can see across north

africa the terrorists are growing. they're in pressure from the french in mali but how long are the french going to stay there in the numbers they're now --, just today there was announcement that iran had put weapons on a ship going into yemen to help arm the pro-iranian terrorists there in yemen where the state is disintegrating. so everywhere you look across the area --. bill: it is popping and a boiling point. you say what we need to be effective is, one, singular anti-terror strategy? >> right. bill: do we have that in this administration? >> we do not. we have in fact a denial that there is a global war on terrorism. the experts will disagree how to handle it. but this is not a series of discrete incidents, algeria is here, and syria is here and egypt is here and none of them are connected. there is a problem that has been growing for 20 years in the region. we saw it on our first 9/11. we've seen it now in the past couple months. we either get serious about it again or we'll see what happened in afghanistan

before the first 9/11. bill: afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world. when you look at this list, algeria, libya, niger, these are some of the poorest countries in the world today. in egypt, i referenced it on the map over there, the army chief is warning unless that situation gets under control within seven days he is warning the entire country could collapse. >> well the economy is already in the tank as a result of what's happened in the so-called arab sprung over the past two years. i think the only outcome that is foreseeable here if the government doesn't get its act together the military will step in and take control. this is radical islamized party that gained boyer in egypt. it is a pattern for what i'm afraid we'll see across the entire region. bill: challenges to come. thank you, john bolton, mr. ambassador, thank you. >> thank you. bill: 19 past here's martha. martha: a republican governor's new plan that could return money to the wallets of taxpayers. we'll tell you where that's happening. bill: the president's new

immigration idea could impact a bipartisan effort already underway in the senate. what about that? florida senator, marco rubio on his view. you will hear it. >> i think it's a good moment to remind people and the country that the vast majority of conservatives favor legal immigration. we don't have a legal immigration system that works right now. mommy's having a french fry. yes she is, yes she is. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. 100% vegetable juice, with three of your daily vegetable servings in every little bottle. a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult.

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bill: i do believe that is interstate 70. martha: isn't that beautiful? bill: would i be right or wrong about that? cutting through colorado. you know how i they that? i used to have a honda accord wiped out on the highway. hit the middle barrier. martha: fortunately for those guys looks like drive something smooth. bill: they're okay. 32 degrees. martha: makes you want to go sking, doesn't it? bill: or snowboarding. i know you're a skier. i'm a boarder. massive sinkhole swallowing

a an entire building. take a look at this. holy cow. all three stories collapsing into the ground in china. several hundred people in the area had to leave their homes. no reports of serious injury. it is believed that construction on a nearby subway system caused the sinkhole. probably right about that. martha: let's come back here to egypt because we've got some breaking news out of there this morning as the violence and tension continues to escalate. egypt's official news agency reported that police prevented masked gunman from robbing an intercontinental hotel in cairo this morning? it september staff and guests there understandably into a panic. the robbers apparently were trying to take advantage of the chaos going on outside and get into that international hotel and wreak some havoc in there. that violence of course we've been watching on the streets in cairo has grown as the protesters mark two years now since the former

president hosni mubarak was forced from power and now people seem to, some of them anyway, want to see another overthrow happen on the streets of egypt. conor powell is following all of these developments for us. good morning, conor. >> reporter: well, martha, it has been six days of growing protests and violent riots. now the anger on the street really stems from the slow pace of political and economic reform. on sunday night the current president, mohammed morsi, declared martial law in three cities, including suez, the major shipping hub. he defended the emergency law calling it necessarily but it is eerily similar to the ones imposed on egyptians for the three decade long rule of angelo mozilo, -- hosni mubarak, former strong man. they were taking to the streets protesting against the moresy government. egyptians say morsi is becoming another hosni mubarak with islamic face. martha, morsi offered a hand

to the opposition to engage in dialogue. that offer was quickly rejected. martha: how is the military responding to all of this, conor? >> reporter: the top general, top military commander in all of egypt, he said the current political crisis could bring about the collapse of the egyptian government in the state. the military is threatening to launch a coup. there are fears they may have to step in to restore order. that would be a major blow, martha, to the fledgling democracy in egypt. >> this has been an continues to be. conor, thank you very much. bill: jug heard ambassador bolton talk about that. think about every country there. there is a major story in everyone of these countries. has been that way for the past two years. we're adding more and more to the list. martha: it is a powder keg. when you look at what is going on in the streets when you have that upheaval you have a government that is transitional one and leads to something else. that may be the best hope

for a positive outcome in egypt. that is long way from succes bill: in a moment here his lawyer says he may not even survive a single about day in this harsh iranian jail. >> he didn't break any laws. he is there because of iran's violation of human rights for his belief as a christian. and iran is the ones that is violating and keeping him illegally for five months and torturing him and being in a horrific prison. eight years is a death sentence. anything can happen every day. bill: his wife has been so strong in this. the why the anguished family of an american pastor jailed in iran today says the state department is not doing enough to get him out. martha: more on that coming up. plus an ultimate survivor who never fails to inspire. the first american soldier to lose all four of his limbs in the iraq war and survive that. he is set to speak for the first time since cutting-edge surgery could dramatically change his life. here he is is with our

meagan kelly at the wounded warriors tunnel to tower run last summer. >> brendan morocco, met awe couple years ago. you were the first surviving quadruple amputee who fought in iraq. you were one of the guys who said he would do it all over again. help us understand that. >> it is a lot of pride, pride in serving. i love my time in the army. i would do it all over defend. just, i don't know, one of those things i'm very proud of and i wouldn't give it up for anything. dry mouth may start off as an irritant.

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martha: treasury cabinet secretary, not treasury, secretary ray lahood will be leaving the cabinet. this is one of a string of resignations we've heard. not all that unusual when you go from the first term to the second early it. when you add it up, you have hillary clinton leaving. you have leon panetta leaving. we'll have a new treasury secretary. a couple of mind staying, kathleen sebelius and janet napolitano. the face of it we'll have very new composition of the president's cabinet in the second term. ray lahood, according to ap announcing that today. bill: the threat of severe weather spreading across much of the country. a tornado, this is, what is it? it's january. there's a tornado watch already in effect for parts of the nation's heartland. maria molina is live in our fox extreme weather. you do not hear of this very often. >> no. good morning. very unusual to be talking

about severe weather during the month of january. this is when we're typically looking at during the spring time, during the month of april, may, june. look at the high temperatures for today. this is one. reasons why we're seeing severe weather outbreak or expecting later on today. 82 degrees for the high temperature in san antonio. 74 in dallas. 74 in memphis. chicago's high temperature, 60 degrees. this is very unusual. this will help fuel the strong storms. we have a lot of humidity in the air. behind the front it is dryer and cooler. all the ingredients are there to see severe weather outbreak lighter into this afternoon. late morning hours and basically today and looking at it continuing throughout the overnight hours. by tomorrow still expecting more severe weather as the front continues to head eastbound. the severe weather risk in texas, dallas, portions of indiana. the greatest risk area is the area shaded in red. we have a chance to see longer track tornadoes. large hail and damaging wind

gusts. heads u little rock, greenville and also memphis. bill: funky stuff when you go from 19 degrees to 61 degrees and back down to 19 degrees again. thank you, maria. keep us posted. martha: back now to a story we've followed very closely here in "america's newsroom." the family of a jailed american pastor in iran is now taking aim in their fight against the u.s. state department after said abedini finds out he will spend the next eight years of his life in iran's most brutal prison for the crime of evan gellization. he is a christian. the white house is now saying that the obama administration has been actively helping the pastor's family. here is jay carney. >> we condemn iran's continued violation of the universal right of freedom of religion and we call on the iranian authorities to release mr. abedini. as you know the state department is in close contact with the abedini family. is actively engaged on this

case. martha: interesting. that is not what we've heard when we've spoken with the family but the pastor's wife says the statent do, as i said is really not doing everything they can. she said every day counts. he is being tortured. they could do so much more. i have been so heart-broken. as low we're letting the iranian government lead with their interpretation what he has done wrong instead of protecting our american ideals. at the very least secretary clinton should publicly call for the unequivocal release of saeed abedini. in her opinion, obviously she wants her husband back. she feels that her country can do more to help. joined by christian whitten, a former state department senior advisor. welcome. good to have you here this morning. >> great to be here, martha, thanks. martha: what you think? what is your take how involved the state department has been? you heard jay carney. he said they're closely involved in this situation. abedini's wife says that is not the case.

>> right. what mrs. abedini is saying rings much truer to me. the white house did mention it but only yesterday. this has been going on for some months. he was just sentenced recently but essentially an american citizen prisoner of conscience inside iran for some time and hillary clinton has not mentioned this at all. it is probably being handled by a relatively low-ranking official in consular affairs this fit as pattern. it fit as pattern with not only the obama administration and mrs. clinton. she started her tenure going to china refusing to raise human rights issues but saying issues like climate change were too important so she couldn't raise human rights. this is norm with iran. refusing to raise any issue seriously with the government beyond the nuclear weapons program. martha: i wao point out the video people are seeing to the right of you is ev prison which is a notorious prison. the conditions we heard from the pastor's wife, up until

now they were able to speak to him on the phone. his children were able to speak with him on the phone. his family in iran was able to visit with him once in a while. he is in a much more isolated part of the prison and that communication will be cut off completely. how would you as a senior state department advisor how would you advise the administration to try to deal with this subject? >> well the more publicity can be brought to this, the more pressure can be applied, the better. frankly dealing with dissidents, i would call this man a dissident now, around the world, more attention can be paid, when the president of the united states raises someone's case it makes it much less likely that dissident can disappear permanently into a prison or into a gallows. this isn't also just a chore or something that's regretable that the president has to use political capital on. it is an opportunity to press this government, to spotlight the cruel, undemocratic inhumane nature

of the iranian regime and frankly to encourage iran yons -- iranians themselves who demonstrated in recent years dissatisfaction with the unelected regime. martha: such a great point. we remember during the uprisings in iran and the streets of tehran back in 2009, the administration was not very outspoken, not very supportive of the iranian people in that entire event and they were criticized mightily for it. you know, but i guess the biggest question is why? why would the u.s. government, whether they're democrat or republican, why would they not take this opportunity as you put it, to speak out about human rights in iran? it seems a great vehicle, obviously emotional great expense to this family but a great vehicle nonetheless? >> right. martha, ronald reagan proved you can raise human rights at the same time you address arms control and security issues with a government. he did it with the soviet union. but a lot of people in the washington foreign policy establishment both republicans, and democrats, think that's impossible.

that if you want to deal from an iran or from a north korea you have to not raise these unpleasant issues but, you know, frankly i think it is to the benefit of u.s. security to do it. now going forward i would it is unlikely. this is an administration here in the united states especially with john kerry becoming secretary of state, chuck hagel, secretary of defense and sham elections coming in iran in june, this is an administration that is going to want to engage again in negotiations, think they can get the deal of the century. so unfortunately i think the trend in washington is against i can making a bigger issue of this but i think that is unfortunate. martha: if i were the pastor's wife listening to you it would be hard to be hopeful. what do you think the outcome will be here? >> well, you know, there is at least a trend in iran of fewer executions. there is an instance of people not serving their full terms and being let out. but it may not be until after elections this june. there are things that of course, average americans

can do even without their government acting. i mean average americans can write to the iranian mission at the u.n. in new york. people in other governments can press local iranian issues. martha: continued awareness what we're doing here as well and tweeting about it @marthamaccallum. if you have thoughts about this i would love to hear em. christopher, thank you very much. good to have you with us. bill: a check of the markets real quick. they're trading 10 minutes here on wall street. big board is up about five points. treading water a little bit. what will prevent us from going to dow 14,000? a lot of people are talking that way because the bulls are off and running. we'll keep a close eye on it. the federal reserve open as two-day policy meeting. we were down slightly yesterday. martha: so giving the gift of a new life. the inspirational story of a veteran who defied the odds and now may be getting a new lee on life. a great story. bill: sure is.

best to him. marco rubio in a moment on what he thinks of president obama's expected plans for immigration. >> i think today's an important first step. in what is going to be a significant complicated journey because the issue of immigration is not a simple one but i think we have the opportunity to do it right, and if we do i think we'll do a tremendous service to our country. my credit card rewards are easy to remember with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card. earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. [ both ] 2% back on groceries. [ all ] 3% on gas. no hoops to jump through. i earn more cash back on the things i buy the most. [ woman ] it's as easy as... one! -two. -[ all ] three! [ male announcer ] the bankamericard cash rewards credit card. apply online or at a bank of america near you.

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so don't wait. with all the good years ahead, look for the experience and commitment to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decision guide. this easy-to-understand guide will answer some of your questions, and help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you. bill: major driver of headlines today. president obama announcing his plan for immigration reform leaving the white house shortly. that is the plan we're hearing, provides a faster pathway to citizenship. on a day after eight republican and democratic senators laid out their plan. senator marco rubio was one of them. i spoke to the republican senator out of florida just a bit earlier today. senator rubio, good morning to you, and welcome back to "america's newsroom". >> thank you. bill: the president will speak later today in las vegas. do you expect him to bow up

your plan? >> well, first of all, we'll reserve judgment until the president speaks. the early reports are that the president seems like he is trying to start a bidding war. we'll not do an immigration bidding wars. we have a set of principles. i've been talking about them for a number of weeks. fortunately there is a group of senate democrats and republicans here who had similar principles. we were able to join together to announce those principles. now we'll turn those principles into a bill, into a law. obviously at some point that is just the starting point. because we have all the other members in the senate have their opinions. what the president sees this opportunity to move the issue to the left to outbid us on immigration. i think that speaks poorly for the future outcome of this entire endeavor. bill: is that your expectation from him then today then? >> that is what i read already in the press. for example, one of the things i think is critical not to repeat the mistakes of 1986. the last time this country dealt will legal immigration. it legalized three million people and did nothing about

enforcement. we had 11 million people and 12 million at its peak in the country undocumented. we can't repeat this mistake now. my understanding from early press reports the president does not want that requirement in there he not want enforcement before we move to the green card path. i think that would be a terrible mistake. we have a bipartisan group of senators that agreed to that for the president to try to move the goalpost on that specific requirement as an example does not bode well in terms of what his role will be in this or the outcome of the entire process. bill: two more questions on that. was it important for you to go public first yesterday? >> well, listen we were working on this proposal for a time. certainly i have my own principles. these other members came to me in december and if these prince principles line up, i will agree with anyone on the issues of the day. somebody has a real plan to solve our debt i will work with them. this is real issue. within the principles i've outlined i will work with anybody. bill: was it important for you to get out of the gate first on this? >> i think it is important for people to know where we stand. i've been talking about this for two or three weeks.

listen, if people don't know where you stand on something. your opposition will tell you where you stand and i guaranty you they will not tell you the truth. i wanted to make it clear for people what we were for and what we were not for. bill: there were three or four republicans and democrats on that stage yesterday. >> right. bill: i am assuming there was some sort of coordination with the white house? >> well, every never spoken to the white house about this issue. i think they have spoken to the press a lot more than they ever spoken to us. we had one phone call last week as courtesy call. that's okay. i don't need to taub to the white house to outline what my principles are. we're the lawmakers. we forgot this around here. we have constitution creates a system of government. the lawmakers write the laws. not the president. the president decides whether he wants to sign or veto them. i will be part of writing the laws. whether he agrees or not is up to him. bill: critics say whether this goes forward you're simply adding millions to the government dole, as many

as 6 million illegals could get some form of government assistance. if that is not accurate, why is that the case? can you guaranty the legislation you spelled out so far will prevent that? >> well, i won't support a bill that does that, i can tell you that much. that is not what the principles say. in fact the principles are very clear they do in the qualify for federal benefits under this plan. when you come forward and you undergo the background check and pay back taxes and fines and you're in the probationary status you do not qualify for federal benefit. we can't afford that. this bill will not do that. bill: there were three aspects to your bill. border security is number one. both sides pretty much agree and that move forred forward. work place enforcement which has been dubious at best over the past 10 years you could argue. you argue about tracking of visa that go in the country and out country. you say in ref trens to 1986 that was simply something that was not done. that is absurd. that is dereliction of government duty and law. >> it hasn't been a

priority. if we don't make it a priority now it won't happen either. the way you make it a priority, you say the green card process we describe in our principles that process does not even begin to happen until the enforcement mechanisms are certified. bill: if it did not happen before, who is to believe it will happen now? >> that's why you have to verify it. the reason you have to do it, the way you do that, saying we're not doing the process of green cards to just even apply for green cards. we won't even begin that process until the enforcement stuff is in place. that has to be very clearly spelled out in the language of the bill. that is in the principles. that has to be reflected in the bill when it is written. if it is not in the bill i won't support it. the reason i support these principles because it is part of these principles among the things i've asked for. bill: one other question. you've spoken in the past about this and quite eloquent about it. you believe his pan fixs -- hispanics should be in the republican party in the first place. why is that.

>> big government doesn't work. that is the reason why people come here from all over the world to get away from big government. big government crushes people who are trying to make it. it doesn't help them. big government helps the people with power to hire lawyers and lobbyists to figure it all out. people trying to make it trying to start a business, trying to get a better job, they need free enterprise and limited government. we have to do a better job making that argument. a little harder to sell big government, but once it is permanent people understand it and become passionate about it and understand it the way i am. bill: marco rubio, appreciate your time. >> thank you. bill: so the u.s. senate has not passed a budget in nearly four years. next hour, senator rubio why he thinks that is. his answer is very interesting. we'll have that for you. martha: one thing that the government really usually does not do but just imagine your state government sending you a check. here is some of your tax money back because actually we don't need this money from you. one governor is hoping he can do just that

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martha: an aspiring story this morning of triumph over tragedy. a soldier who lost his arms and legs in a roadside bomb attack in iraq in 2009 received a double arm transplant. 26-year-old brendan morocco from new york, and we expect to hear a lot more about this during a news conference from the doctors at johns hopkins. that will happen in just over an hour. national security correspondent jennifer griffin joins us with more from the pentagon. jennifer tell us something about sergeant morocco. >> reporter: hi, martha.

he was the first quadruple amputee from these wars. he was injured on easter sunday in iraq in 2009. he is the most proud and unassuming guy. his tweets on the eve of his surgery back in december say it all. quote, holy, mother of god, i was just told i might have my transplant tomorrow. his enthusiasm is infectious. fox's megyn kelly talked to him last july about his service. >> brendan marrocco, i met you a couple years ago. you were the first surviving quadruple amputee who fought in iraq. >> yep. >> you were one the guys that said he could do it all over again. help us understand that that. >> i think it is a lot of pride in serving. >> reporter: there are two other quadruple amputees up at walter reed recovering and 300 overall who lost limbs. brandon is shown here before his surgery in a new home built by a group called

homes for heroes in staten island where he is from. >> very overwhelming. i never really been one for the spotlight or anything. now, it is on me. >> reporter: we're now hearing that he is starting to be able to move those arms that were newly transplanted just a month ago, martha. martha: what a story, jennifer. what a sweet young man. your heart just goes out to him. how many of these surgeries have they done before? >> reporter: well, it's fascinating. there have only been 80 arm transplants done over, in the whole world. half of the arm transplants in this country have been done by this doctor, dr. andrew lee, who is up at johns hopkins. there was a team of 12 surgeons that worked on brendan. we'll hear from them later in about an hour. martha: what amazing talent to do that kind of surgery. our thoughts and prayers are with the doctors and with him. jennifer, thank you so much. we'll see more later. bill: in every way too. the parents of sandy hook

are speaking out. what a statement they have for america. it is probably not what you expected. president obama promised to close gitmo and the office working to close it is shut down instead. now why would that be?

who went second. who believes that there are gun laws on the books that are the strongest statement we can do. you they, what would you do to sort of calm his fears, to insist that you will do everything you can in your power as one of the outspoken people on this issue to make sure gun laws are enforced that are on the books? >> well, one of the things that hit me right away when i heard this horrible news, is that here we go again, a law that says no guns in a

particular area. gun-free zone was once again a factor in what happened in this tragedy. it's, i don't think it is a miss talk that all of the mass murders that we've experienced over last 20 years have occurred in gun-free zones. all but one of them legally enforced gun-free zones. that, ought to tell us something that, we're not making ourselves safe when nobody is around to protect anybody with a gun. this guy committed suicide and stopped the massacre when he heard the cops coming. so when a guy, a good guy with a gun comes, that's when the bad guy with a gun stops. martha: i mean that point is indisputable. you know, i think people, you know, sort of come to this discussion with many different things in their background but that point is indisputable. that the thing that stopped the massacre when he saw those police coming towards him with a gun. that is when he took his own

life. but just going back to my question, are there laws on the books regarding guns that you feel are good and need to be more strongly enforced? we at gun owners of america very much from our heart plea to the legislators, get rid of this law. it has been lethal. nothing good has come from gun-free school zones, only tragedy. martha: larry pratt it's an emotional subject and we thank you very much for speaking with us today. good to have you here. bill: and mr. mattiola lost his six-year-old son he was referencing during that hearing. the more you listen to that it draws you in to what he's going

through and the strength he showed to deliver that. central point in this debate, december of last year checks for firearms spiked to a record 2.7 million. that was a 49% increase over the year previous, and 2012 was a record year with 19.5 million background checks. there were twice as many checks for firearms between november and december during the same time period in the previous year 2011. martha: a lot of things to think about there. developing right now on capitol hill the senate foreign relations committee is set to vote on senator john kerry's nomination to be the next secretary of state. if approved the nomination will move to the full senate where it is expected to pass very he's leave. senator kerry is a five-term massachusetts senator and 2004 presidential candidate of course. he will succeed secretary of state hillary clinton who is stepping down after four years as secretary of state. bill: state department has clothessed the office working on

shutting down guantanamo bay. this is a sign the administration does not on closing that nil tear reprison during this term. catherine herridge live on this. catherine, this announcement was it under the radar or not there in washington? >> reporter: well it was, bill and good morning. it was obscure internal state department announcement that reveals the direction on closing the camps. dan real fried who has been charged with overseeing the detainees from guantanamo has been reassigned and no replacement has been identified. a military source who worked the issue under president bush told tpobgttold fox news this is a tacit exp.m example of him not wanting to close guantanamo. the greatest number of detainees remaining is close to 100 and

they all come from yemen. they cannot be returned to their home country because of instability and because of the strength of al-qaida's affiliate there, bill. bill: there was evidence that these 9/11 attorneys they went about the c.i.a. secret prisons. >> they were transferred to guantanamo under president bush. of the five are the 9/11 suspects whose pretrial hearings continue this weak. in an effort to preserve evidence the men's defense lawyers are seeking to keep the black sites intact to remain exactly as they were when the men were allegedly tortured there. the self-described architect of 9/11 one of the three detainees to be water boarded at the secret sites, you see them there in about 2003 and then more recently in an interest nation tpha tphal led cross picture. what was bizarre this morning is that there does appear to be a third level of monitoring or censorship if you will that

blocks the public and reporters from hearing what goes down. there is the judge, a military sensor and now there seems evidence of a third party. one of the central complaints from the aclu and others is these military proceedings especially when they are dealing with the military back sites are far from transparent under the obama administration, bill. bill: thank you, catherine. martha: there is a desperate search going on right now for an american fighter jet pilot missing off the coast of it leave. the f-16 lost contact over the aeu tkraoe athe ad reurbgs atic sea. they are searching for the pilot. the italian coast guard is reporting rough weather and poor visibility that is hamburg that effort. bill: we have to news out of syria, a horrific discovery in the war torn town of aleppo. the bodies of 65 men found three the banks of a river. human rights groups say they appear to have been executed.

we are getting new video at a strategic complex at syria's border with iraq. the rebels have taken control of a prison and released at least 11-inch mates there. the war continues. strange twist crossed the wires today. bashar al-assad says they are expecting a baby, that his wife is pregnant in the middle of all of this now this announcement comes out. martha: busy time for their family to say the very least. my. bill: busy time. martha: the president with a sharp new attack on republicans saying that the g.o.p. is not willing to do the right thing. is that fair? our panel debates, next. bill: also that exploding national debt, martha, more of our interview with florida senator marco rubio. he comes back to talk about the tough choices he says must be made now. martha: and some tough questions posed to new york's mayor about guns. we are going to show you the video of what happened when he was confronted by a reporter on this case and we'll speak to that reporter.

>> in the spirit of gun control will you disarm your entire security team? >> i'll get back to you. >> you'll get back to me? would you like a sip of my soda? mayor bloomberg, why can you defend yourself but not the majority of americans? i mean look at the team of security you've got. twins. i didn't see them coming. i have obligations. cute obligations, but obligations. i need to rethink the core of my portfolio. what i really need is sleep. introducing the ishares core, building blocks for the heart of your portfolio. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal.

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martha: well it's breaking news now but it's no big surprise. john kerry has been confirmed by the senate foreign relations committee on which he was the chair. so they have passed him. now it will go to the full senate for a vote. he is of course expected to get through there with no problem as well and become the next secretary of state following hillary clinton. bill: texas governor rick perry is looking to change his state's constitution. if successful he would put more money back into the wallets of taxpayers. according to this report he's proposing a plan to allow the state to return money that it

collects but does not spend back to the folks who live there. martha: very nice. bill: novel. governor perry will make the pitch during the "state of the state" address this morning saying he has never bought into the notion that if you collect more you need to spend more that. plan would have to pass both house necessary austin with a two-thirds majority and then be approved by voter. we'll keep a watch on that. martha: very interesting. i want to talk to him about that. president obama is now targeting republicans in an interview with the new republic he said that democrats are the only ones willing to put their differences aside to help the nation. the president said this. quote when it comes to really trying to make decisions based on fact as opposed to ideology, when it comes to being willing to compromise the democrats, not just here in the white house, but i would say in congress also, have shown themselves consistent lee to be willing to do tough things, even when it's not convenient, because it's the right thing to do. we haven't seen the same kind of attitude on the other side.

that's got a lot of people talking. we are going to that you can to a few of our friends. box beckel former democratic campaign manager and cohost of the five a. kate obashane. they say the republicans don't even want to do the right thing is that so? >> i think they want to do the right thing. obama came in and campaigned on trying to bring people together. he tried around the stimulus package and republicans, no votes for it and yet the republicans were willing to go when the money was spent in their district and take credit for it. when they had to try to do something on obamacare, they had a bipartisan committee working towards a goal and the republicans walked away from it. mitch mcconnell the minority leader of the senate said my job is to make sure that obama tkaoepbts have a secon doesn't have a second term. with all this in mind it's sort

of difficult to see how they will help you. martha: even with mcconnell's statement you can look at that statement and look at everything else mitch mcconnell has said and you can say it's because mitch mcconnell doesn't believe that the policies that the president is promoting are the best thing for america. he has a different way of doing it, so of course he doesn't want this person to be president because he thinks that they are going to take the country in a direction that he feels is not best. it's a negation of the idea that republicans have their own brain, that they are thinking about things on their own and they are not simply evil. it seems to me that the leadership on that, on understanding that both sides have good motives needs to come from the top. bob, address that and then i know kate will want to jump in as well. >> i don't -- i think people do have good mo motives. let's face it there are flat differences between the two parties. martha: of course there are. >> we understand that. they believe one thing, we believe another. but elections do have consequences and the president won re-election.

among the things he talked about were the very things that he's trying to do. i think the republicans are finding that now to be the right thing to do on immigration where they are coming along. there are things that happen in election. we won one, and we'll lose one but right now we won. martha: kate stood back long enough, jump in. >> it's killing me. look it is laughable to sulg that this president has been in anyway a come proceed myers. compromiser. i read an entire book where he vilified the other side. he has stayed away from discussing the facts. any time republicans stand up with applausable opposition he says they hate women, they hate poor people, working class, they care only about millionaires and billionaires. we haven't seen a change in attitude unlike what he says in the new republic. in fact he has said that republicans are absolutists that they care more about the gun lobby than they do about

children and that they are afraid, they are ginning up opposition on gun laws, again and again. any time we start to talk about debt reduction and deficit reduction obama says they don't care about paying ooh port to the elderly or children with disabilities. it's pureville flying. and republicans better not get on defense about this and say, oh, no, no we are happy to compromise. they have to say, wait a minute we are constantly willing to compromise this guy just wants to destroy us. martha: you look at guns, and now immigration which is the battle we are about to have. it seems to me what most americans would want i would assume is a president who says -- who says and believes there are facts on our side, there are facts on their side, okay. let's figure out what the best solution is, rather than denigrating the opposition. that would happen more at the congressional level. the president you want to rise above that. >> he's going to give a speech in las vegas.

i think you'll find that a lot of what he's going to say is close to what we've heard from the bipartisan group in the senate. when kate says that we villa lie, or the president vilifies people, it was the republicans held out an entire economic plan in order to protect the tax rates for wealthy people. >> there that negates their reasoning, kate does it not? i think you have to accept that. we all under that people have different perspectives. anybody who wants to judge them has to understand that the reason they didn't want to tax rich is because they felt it was going to hurt the economy, kate? >> that is the point, martha. bob did exactly what barack obama does, instead of trying to articulate why raising taxes on upper income, small businesses, where that will help the economy instead he just said, see they only care about millionaires and billionaires they don't care about the middle class. republicans is saying this is no time to raise factio taxes on

anybody. >> i don't any $40,500,000,000 to be considered class. martha: you're saying the republicans just like rich people better, they want to protect them, is that really what you believe? >> i think they believe, they believe that wealthy people are the job creators. we happen to believe that 97% of the job creators in this country do not fall under that tax range. and so there is very substantial evidence on our side, at least we believe, that there is not this case that you're taking all these job creators and raising taxes on them. they have had the best benefit of all tax bills since the 1980s. it's time to level the playing field. that's what we said and that's what we got done and it was the right thing to do. >> by decimating growth, any sort of recovery you want to stop that just to be punitive and in the name of fairness? actually we want to keep taxes low on everybody, bob. >> i think the government is

doing fine. martha: on that note we can all agree. we all hope the recovery is doing fine. >> so do i. martha: we hope it's headed to the right direction. >> exactly right. it's been a plessor kate. bill: see you at 5:00, bob. violent protests in one city. check this out. demonstrators and police going head-to-head, where this happened and what ticked them this off in the first place. >> a live look at sarasota, florida. daredevil nick w allendda set to crass 240 feet in the air, no net and no tether. we will show this to you live, don't go away, folks.

martha: brand-new video coming in of violent protests happening in belgium for a plan for a major steel worker to shut down a plant there. police firing water cannons at the crowd there. protestors seen throwing stones back at them. it all comes after a plan to close the steel and mining plant along with six production lines in belgian city, a move that threatens 1300 jobs. bill: belgian is going at it. turning back now to a story we talked about earlier, the senate gets ready to hold its first hearing on possible new gun legislation. there are serious concerns and questions over knee calls to mandate universal background checks. william la jeunesse on that story live in l.a. now. william, good morning, what do you have? >> bill it seems to be the one thing that lawmakers a pier t

appear to agree on. guns for the deraged is a patchwork of records that the government has treated not with try or the. and it begins with this application to buy a firearm. it is the first line of defense against gun crime, the background check. >> this is to make sure that you don't have any -- anything prohibiting in your past that would keep you from owning a firearm. >> reporter: fell ons, fugitives, domestic abusers, drug ears, the mentally ill, illegal aliens among others cannot buy a gun. >> you are going to wait ten days to put you through a background check. >> reporter: all states require f.b.i. background checks on weapons sold as gun stores. some include gun show sales for most weapons. the majority do not. a loophole some lawmakers hope to close. >> background checks for all firearm sales, not just by

licensed dealers, but also at gun shows, private sales. >> reporter: but the system remains gross lee incomplete according to a federal audit last year missing millions of court record identifying the mentally ill and drug users, which explains while 21 states, including california do their own more thorough checks and require waiting period from three days to six months to get a gun or gun permit. 29 states rely solely on the f.b.i. >> is it hard for a person with a criminal record to get a gun? >> no. >> reporter: not that any of this matters to those who don't follow the law. >> where do crime guns come from? >> pretty much the streets. >> the streets. >> the streets. i'd say 95% off the streets, the crime guns. >> reporter: they buy off the street because they fear getting caught but they face little penalty if they do. in 2010 out of 6 million background checks just 72,000 were denied a firearm. of those 44 were referred for prosecution and just 13 people

were found guilty of trying to buy a firearm when they shouldn't have one. bill: that is a remarkably low number there. thank you, william la jeunesse in that story in los angeles. martha: it's been about four years now since the senate produced a budget which is part of their job description. what could it do to make lawmakers to pass one this year? florida senator marco rubio talks about that coming up. bill: also no net, no harness no problem, martha. nik wallenda's latest death defying stunt starts any moment now that. that is sarasota, florida on a beautiful day in january. you will see his walk live, with no tether. last time he had a tether and a passport in his pocket. not this time. ♪ ♪ blam

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bill: there is a new deadline for congress to get a budget. novel idea. this will be the next big battle in washington. a bit earlier today i talked with senator marco rubio about that. listen to how he explains why the senate has failed on this front for years. senator rubio thank you. it's good to see you live from capitol hill. a double-dip today on "america's newsroom" with you. the house republicans are telling the senate to show their hand on a budget, a budget that has not been produced in the

senate in about four years time. i'm curious on the outside, do you guys even talk about that in the senate? >> first of all i think people understand that the senate is controlled by democrats not by my party. if my marty was in charge much the senate it would have had a budget a longtime ago. bill: do you sit around and say, by law we are supposed to have a budget. >> here is the reason we haven't had a budget. when you budget you have to make choices and upset people. have you to go and tell people sorry we can't afford to pay for what you want. it may ab very good program but we don't have the money to it. politically when you're trying to hold onto your majority you don't want to offend anybody. they say they are going to do a budget this year. i hope that they do. without a budget how can we plan for our future and how can the american people know where their money is going? bill: well mid april is when the budget is supposed to come out then about mid may is the extension of the debt ceiling. but come back to your answer here, is that the motivation for harry reid not to produce a budget, he doesn't want to

offend people? >> they d want to produce a budget because it makes you make choices. coming out of the 2010 election he was afraid and they were afraid of loosing their majority. they ae avoided every tough issue. we hardly did anything in the senate. when you have to budget you have to make decisions you can't speak in platte taoudz. that's why they've avoided doing a budget. think their time is up. they said they are going to produce a budget this year. that's important. look what we did this paul ryan's budget and how they beat it up. that's why they didn't want to produce one of their own. bill: it's my assumption that the senate produces a budget in april and it goes to the house and they say we are not moving on that. >> the normal process begins of negotiates where the two sides have to reconcile their differences in what they call a conference. this is the way this place is supposed to work not via press, but makers toking. things that are bad for our economy they won't have the

support of republicans but they have enough votes to pass a budget from the senate, and both side will have to negotiate to come up with a final package. bill: if there is no final package and no agreement do you agree with paul ryan the sequestration will take effect. >> that will happen by law. i think what paul ryan is saying is right. that is scheduled to happen unless something keeps it from happening. if there is no agreement between the two sides it's going to automatically happen. it's not good nor our national defense, it's not really the best way to balance our budget but in the absence of no action that's exactly what is going to happen. bill: with the budget and the debt ceiling and the immigration push that becomes a pretty crowded calendar. does that mean that new gun laws don't happen and get no movement or traction in this congress? >> kwhraeu don'yeah i don't expect that them. i understand the issue of people raising it and how they are raising it given the environment we are in in the aftermath of a terrible tragedy. no gun laws have ever worked to

accomplish that. some of the place necessary this country with the strictist gun laws have the most violence. let's have that debate, we are happy to point out that. bill: last week harry reid seemed to suggest that he did not want to put his senate democrats in an uncomfortable situation regarding a vote on gun control. there are 20 democratic senators up for re-election in 2014. is it your belief that he's trying to give them cover? >> well, i understand why, we -- by the way, the right to bear arms is not something we made up. it is a constitutional right and i hope that there are democrats that are uncomfortable about doing things that undermine that. it is a basic fundamental american rights, it's one of the unique rights we have compared to the rest of the world and it's one we won't give up easily i tell that you much. bill: thank you for your time. marco rubio the republican from florida. one of the reasons he was on with us today is because the president is going to respond to

what he had to say bim congratulations. what do you think in mid april? there already fireworks and headlines on that budget deal. martha: when you consider the fact that they haven't written a bulge net nearly four years, right. you talk about having a full plate? i wonder what the heck they are doing all the time if they haven't been able to fulfill the basic responsibility that is congressional which is the power of the person to create a budget. it appears to me that they have negated their most central job description in not doing that. and i really think about what he said. when he said, you know, redon't want to do this by press conference. i think there are a lot of hard-working senators and members of congress who really miss the fact that they are not allowed to sort of hash these things out any more, that it is done by press conference and by president obama and john boehner when they get behind khraoesed doorclosed doors and make these decisions. bill: i think he would agree with that on all points. martha: deadly floodwaters forcing thousands of people from their homes. this is the scene in queensland,

australia where rescuers airlifted more than a thousand people from the rising water and the flooding is expected to get work. david piper is streaming live from bangkok. david, what is the situation there? >> hi, mart that, it's been a really tough year so far for australia, first they had the bush fires and now this heavy flooding. the epicenter of this disaster at the moment is around a town of budaberg, in queensland as you said. about a thousand people had to escape by going onto rooftops of their homes there. concern also in new south wales, the town of grafton they fear the levee will break. they've evacuated that town. new problems at the moment and the emergency services are stretched there trying to cope witness martha. martha: those images remind me of hurricane katrina with people on the rooftops and the discussion of levees breaking.

how difficult is it for them to get this there and help those people, david? >> reporter: it's quite a large operation. to actually manage to help a thousand people off the roof stops by helicopter is a mammoth task and pretty amazing really. that town of grafton with the levee is a major challenge. they brought in the australian military to help out as well. they had to immediate deevacuate the patients from the hospital in grafton and also b u.n. daberg to escape. martha: that is the video of the baby we watched yesterday safely rescued, thank goodness. david, thank you very much. bill: it's a nickle worth millions, a rare 1913 liberty head nickle packed away in a closet for four decades expected to go up for $5 million at auction. that's a pretty good mark up. it was illegally made in 1912 by a worker at the u.s. mint who

changed the date on the dye to read 1913. there are only five of those known to be in existence. martha: that's cool. bill: they gotting you coming up there too, five cents to 2 million. go for it. martha: another question about gun control which we've been talking a lot about. this one was posed to the new york city mayor. watch this. >> why can you defend yourself but not the majority of americans? i mean look at the team of security you've got, and you're an advocate for gun control? one, two, three, four, five -- five i'm counting, probably mo more. martha: we're going to talk to that report, ask him about his questions and what the mayor's response was, plus this. bill: they don't mind if you burst their bubble. it's for a good cause after all.

>> i'm just going to jump. our ears are going to pop, it's beautiful.

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♪ bill: all right death defying stunt almost underway in florida, this is sarasota now. you are looking live. nik wallenda, that is a wire over u.s. 41 in downtown sarasota, he picked a good day too, a hundred feet above ground like his historic trek over niagara falls last june. this time he is not wearing a safety harness to keep you watching a little longer. martha: we are going to do that right after the show, right, bill? we do that regularly. we've got brand-new video that shows a reporter tussling with security after repeatedly asking new york city mayor mike bloomberg to answer a tough question on gun control. mayor bloomberg as you may know is an outspoken antigun critic. watch this very closely. >> in the spirit of gun control will you disarm your entire security team? >> we'll get right become to you. >> you'll get back to me?

would you like a sip of my soda? mayor bloomberg why -- why can you defend yourself but not the majority of americans? i mean look at the team of security you've got. and you're an advocate for gun control? one, two, three, four, five -- five i'm counting, there are probably more. martha: oh, my, my, what an interesting standoff that was. here is jason matera is a senior investigative reporter nor a top radio network and a journalist and author, jason good to have you here this morning. >> thanks for having me, martha. martha: the sowed today, just in case you don't know, if you're not from this area. explain why you're carrying a big gulp in your hand and asking the mayor if he wants a sip of your soda. >> because it is over the legal limit right now in new york. it was a 32-ounce soda and i plea of what the limit is 16 ounces now for fast-food restaurants. the only illegal substance within that area was the soda. i wanted to make sure that mayor

bloomberg is properly hydrated as he goes and takes up the challenges of new york city. martha: so they came after you. what did you do? >> after we posed a very straightforward question to mayor bloomberg as he is this deep pocketed advocate for gun control will he lead by example and disarm his entire personal s.w.a.t. team around him? clearly he won't. after that exchange bloomberg's security guard actually followed us, one identified himself as an nymd officer, presumably who was armed, and he was trying to get me to show my driver's license, when i told him i didn't have jurisdiction he said, oh, yeah i have security jurisdiction here, which there is no legal security injures tkeurbgs jurisdiction, he was just making that up. then he followed me a block further and asked me for my date of birth. martha: he followed you a blockade way. >> two blocks in general, he followed me a block to question me after i talked to bloomberg and followed me a block after

that to get my date of birth, like i'm going to give him my date of birth. martha: let's go back to the center of that. is it fair to ask a public official like that, don't you expect them to have security around them, he's the mayor of new york city. >> sure, i don't begrudge mayor phraoplburg to have security, armed security at that, but i also expect him if he's going to have security for his personal protection not to restrict the right of americans, not just those in new york but he's coordinating with the obama administration to push gun control at a national level and actually fund candidates to counter balance the nra candidates. so if security and armed security is good for him i expect it for that single mother in new york city who is concerned about thugs and wannabe thugs who are going to rob her home. martha: she can legally have a gun and carry it. >> she can have a gun but it's restrictive as to the number of rounds in the magazine. right now nypd the standard issue firearm has 15 round in a magazine. now in new york you can only

have seven. i'm sorry, burglars don't just rob homes by themselves. usually they have partners and they are not going to follow any directive, oh, please if you're going to rob this home, just do it by yourself, don't have two or three or four people with you. i think americans not the government should determine how many bullets they need to defend their person, property and family. martha: what do you think his answer would have been if you had got even through with him. why he deserves, and public officials deserve, and i think you're right, and most americans believe that you want these public officials protected. what would be his answer to that. why would he restrict other people from protecting themselves. >> i don't think he has a legitimate man. michael bloomberg is a million air. he wants to regulate our salt content, what you cook with. this man this is he knows best not just when it comes to firearms, when it comes to daily living. bike lanes are all over the city

that are causing congestion everywhere. his response will be, listen peasant i know what's best for you you don't know what is best for your own life and you certainly don't know what is best to protect yourself, your family and property from would be harm and burglars. martha: by the way your big gulp is good until march,. >> is it? martha: it's good until march. get yourself a big gulp today and enjoy it. i won't be able to have one of those. you're able to have a couple of cups. >> so there are loopholes in the soda ban. martha: thank you jason. good to have you here. bill: jon scott is here. what is happening with you. jon: good morning, bill. president obama heads to nevada to layout his terms for immigration reform. will the white house end newspaper a battle with the senate one day after senators from both parties unveil their plan. the political and economic stakes are huge. lifesaving information for

breast cancer patients. ha new study on what can increase survival rates. the prosecution paints jodi arias as a cold-blooded killer. can she sway the jury and save her own life? it's all on "happening now." bill: just watching this vote in the senate right now, john kerry's nomination nor secretary of state. will he make it? we're keeping a close eye on this. martha: more than three months after super storm sandy and the cleanup is far from over, the massive effort that is underway. look at this to clear all of that massive debris. we'll be right back. hey! did you know that honey nut cheerios has oats that can help lower cholesterol? and it tastes good? sure does! wow. it's the honey, it makes it taste so...

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bill: here is a at the time defying stunt about to get underway in sarah s sarasota, florida, you are looking live. not at aj mccarren's girlfriend,

did you get that? martha: i did. >> that is over highway 41 in downtown sarasota, apparently his hometown. this is the guy who walked across niagara falls in june. martha: when he did that he had this harness thing attached to his leg so if he were to slip off he would be dangling for it like a bulge gee cord that doesn't bungee, right? in this case he has nothing underneath him whatsoever and he is going to cross across this sky walk. obviously this is the famous wallenda family. they've been doing it for generations. his great grandfather carl wallenda died i at 73 doing a wal walk -- knee was 73? martha: yeah he was 73 in 1978. bill: the wide picture you don't

see yet. there are people all overplays. a big event in sarasota. apparently when he walked across niagara, i wasn't aware of this until today. he had a u.s. passport. martha: they ask for those things when you enter a new count three country, you know. bill: he had it in his pocket and had a water plea text device over it. when the canadian officials greeted him on that side of niagara they said could we please see your passport. an pulled it out. martha: i don't think you should carry it in your pocket on one side because it could change your balance every so slightly. bill: that was done with a tether. even if he screwed up the latch will catch on to the wire and he might be embarrassed an might be okay. martha: not so today. bill: not so today, that is only asphalt or pavement or some sort of concrete, right? martha: they are doing all the sort of preliminary stuff that they do. he's ready to go up

into the cage, and he'll get on the tigh tightrope and when he does we'll be watching. bill: it's extraordinary how much we know about this guy. martha: we are practically wallend experts. we have so much more to share with you. just let us do it. cutting edge medicine that offers an iraq war veteran new hope after an unimaginable loss. the first american service member to lose all four limbs in combat in iraq is now about to undergo the first double-arm transplant. this is an amazing story, an is so hopeful annex aoeulte and and excite bed this propect. he will speak live in a news conference moments away. we will bring you that live when that happens. >> i loved my time in the army, i'd do it all over again. just -- i don't know it's one of those things that i'm very proud of, and i won't give it up for anything. the audacity to believe

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